Miklos Rozsa sued over Walter Schumann's use of Rozsa's "The Killers" motif in the opening bars of Schumann's "Dragnet" theme. Both composers were at Universal. The march section of Schumann's "Dragnet" theme first appeared (at least the germ of it) in his score to the 1947 picture THE WISTFUL WIDOW OF WAGON GAP.

Miklos Rozsa brought action against Walter Schumann for allegedly lifting the famous 1950's "Dragnet" TV theme 4 note intro from Rozsa's score for the film "The Killers" (1946). The two settled and eventually shared in the royalties.

From wikipedia: "Horner’s main title music incorporates cues from 1973 Amarcord by Nino Rota and Raymond Scott’s 1937 Powerhouse B tune, often referenced in Carl Stalling’s Warner Bros. cartoon scores. Scott's piece was used without payment or credit, leading his estate to threaten legal action against Disney. Disney paid an undisclosed sum in an out-of-court settlement and changed the film's cue sheets to credit Scott."

Didn't Elliott Goldenthal successfully sue Tyler Bates for swiping shamelessly from his Titus score in 300? I know that the eventual DVD/Blu-Ray came with a "portions of this score have been adapted from sources not written by Tyler Bates" (or something to this effect) notation on the back.

Didn't Elliott Goldenthal successfully sue Tyler Bates for swiping shamelessly from his Titus score in 300? I know that the eventual DVD/Blu-Ray came with a "portions of this score have been adapted from sources not written by Tyler Bates" (or something to this effect) notation on the back.

Very interesting. Just bought Les Baxter's "Joy" from iTunes. If I hadn't just read about the lawsuit, I would have never made any connection to E.T., and even knowing the complaint, any connection is pretty weak IMO.

I recall the Gustav Holst estate accused Hans Zimmer or plagiarizing "Mars" in the Gladiator battle music. I don't know if anything ever came of this.

Very interesting. That being the case, why would this not have happened with STAR WARS: EPISODE IV? Of course we all know the film was temp tracked with Mars, but the score is so close as to be more than a mere homage. What's the difference there? Or, for that matter, with the start of the naval scene in BEN-HUR, where again there's more than just an homage to the same piece? Any thoughts?

Don't the studios normally hold copyright on their "work for hire" film compositions? If so, why do we speak of composers suing -- especially since the studios are the ones with the money to pursue such activities?